Glenhyrst Art Gallery will be hosting its fourth annual Grand River Arts Festival (GRAF) from Friday, September 18, to Saturday, September 19, 2026.
The two-day event offers an opportunity for guests to roam the grounds of the Glenhyrst Gardens as they fully immerse themselves in the world of art, live music and theatre.
“The Grand River Arts Festival covers most art forms, but in a super unique and fun way. When people hear the word art, I think the visual arts like painting are often what come to mind, but what we’ve tried to do is incorporate every art form we can, from writing, poetry and pottery, music, theatre, performance art and dance, and combine it into one big event,” said Ana Olson, Glenhyrst’s Gallery Director. “That was kind of always our goal, to make sure we were embracing all the different areas of interest out there. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that, and the festival has only continued to expand over the years.”
She continued, “We feel like we’re really creating an environment for people, and we want it to feel like one big hug from the arts community. Everywhere you look, there’s something happening. There may be music on the stage, but you can move to your right and there’s performance art, to the left and there’s visual art and painting. It’s just an all-encompassing, immersive experience.”
The two-day celebration of the arts will come alive on Friday night with a ticketed, 19-plus evening prelude from 5 to 9 p.m.
The opening event will feature a special showing of last year’s 10-Minute Play winner, performance art by Big Cityyy Arts, a garden bar with curated drinks, food trucks and a first look at this year’s art exhibitors.
On the candlelit stage, The Jesse Murphy Band will kick off the evening’s musical entertainment, followed by Juno Award nominee and CFMA award winner Danny Michael.
The festivities continue the next day with a whole host of activities and things to experience from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. including:
- More than 55 visual artists showcasing and selling their work
- The 10-Minute Play Competition with 17 live theatre performances
- A Coffee Rave at 11 a.m. featuring DJ Cheetah Ram Out and Altitude Coffee
- The Grand Impressionists live painting
- A sale and demonstrations by the Brantford Potters’ Guild in the Gardener’s Cottage
- Live music all day on the main stage from Zuffalo, Whiskey Delta featuring Conor Gains, Hotfix, The Wanted, and Liv Gaines
- Performance art by Big Cityyy Arts
- Local food and drinks
- Interactives art experiences
While Saturday is free to attend, the 10-Minute Play Competition will be presented in three blocks at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., with tickets costing $15 per block.
“The 10-Minute Play Competition is something that has become a really important event in the world of theatre in our region,” said Olson. “We’re attracting people from places like Toronto, Stratford, London and Niagara, so we’re thrilled that people are really into it and embracing it. And with the capacity in the Coach House being 55 people, we encourage everyone to get their tickets ahead of time, and to do that soon because they’re selling pretty quickly.”
Overall, Olson said she and the GRAF committee are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to the long-awaited event.
“We’re super excited,” she said. “It’s such a great event that’s run by artists, for artists and for the community. You don’t want to miss it.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
